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3 Tips To Getting More Qualified, Better Paying High School Senior Portrait Sessions

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My daughter brought home her high school year book yesterday. As a photographer, the first thing I did is pick it up and start scanning the senior portraits. I know things are different now, but I’m always amazed – and a little shocked too – at how many truly “bad” photographs are within the pages of this keepsake.

Twenty years ago, you had to use pre-established photographers that had the measurements of the specified image, and would conform to the requirements. When you looked through a yearbook, the seniors’ images were all relatively the same. Which meant you focused on looking at the kids.

Now anything goes. Around one third of the kids use the image taken for their school ID. You can tell by the “infamous” blue background and the lackluster smiles. Then you have another one third with quality high school senior portraits – you can tell they went to a professional, and in some cases I can even tell who the professional is by the props and poses. Then there is the final one third.

  • I saw images with overexposed backgrounds and dark, washed out faces.
  • I saw images that were out of focus.
  • I saw snapshots from family vacations where the senior was so small it was hard to see.
  • I saw some of the craziest poses and angles – I couldn’t believe anyone thought they were good images.

Yep, many of them were truly bad.

In today’s society, people are forgetting what real photography is all about. Real photography is now associated with “new”. The last picture you snapped goes up on Facebook, and that becomes your newest image to share. Chances are it will be “good” – you wouldn’t put up a bad one. But it isn’t great. It isn’t beautiful and it won’t stand the test of time. Look at it a year from now and it will simply be a snapshot marking a moment in time.

Dig Deeper: Filling Your Portrait Studio With High School Seniors
A real photograph is more than that. It not only marks a moment in time, it captures the essence of who the person is. And that’s where a professional comes in.

 

by Sam Attal


Professionals learn a lot of things over the years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Portrait Photography Tagged With: , ,

The Future Of Microstock Photography

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Just like most other niches within the photography industry, microstock has completely changed the landscape. Instead of commanding big bucks for shoots for companies, microstock gives companies a way to buy stock images inexpensively. Yes, they aren’t original. But the low price is what brings them in and makes them stay.

Can you make money with microstock? According to a recent survey, the answer is still overwhelmingly yes. 24 percent of the people surveyed stated that microstock was the primary way they brought in income. And what may be even more exciting, the highest reported income was $900,000. Yep, close to $1 million just by selling microstock.

Many people would argue that this is just the lucky one – the one person that actually had success with it – most people will never make money at it. And I agree. But I would also argue that most people will never make money with photography either. The people that do succeed treat it like a business and work at their business every single day. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Microstock/Stock Photography Tagged With: , ,

Filling Your Portrait Studio With High School Seniors

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I had a question come through yesterday on the high school senior market and how you build a list of qualified prospects. And since the high school senior market is coming up in full force here in the States, I thought it would be the perfect time to create a new post and look at how you can fill your portrait studio up with high school seniors.

Like other niches within the photography industry, the high school senior market has become a cutthroat business. Years ago, many high schools in our area had a pre-select group of photographers to choose from. You had to go with one of them to be included in the yearbook. So of course all high school seniors selected from those few photographers. Then things changed.

Now any photograph can be included in the yearbook. A child simply has to get it into the yearbook office before the deadline. There are very few restrictions, which means if you look at a yearbook, you’ll see the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Dig Deeper: 7 Tips To Take Better Senior Portraits

Because people are looking for extra money, the high school senior market seems to be the one area that is easy to jump in. With no requirements from the schools, its just a matter of offering a low enough price to gain some business, or so a lot of photographers seem to think. And in reality, it works. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Portrait Photography Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why Great Wedding Vendors Should Be Your Best Friends

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If you photograph weddings, chances are you can quickly think of other wedding vendors you love to work with … and a few you hope you never see again.

We worked at one wedding where the videographer completely monopolized the bride and groom. He would follow us around to use all of our ideas, or jump in and start videoing as we were photographing intimate portraits with the worlds largest and most obnoxious light source. After a couple hours of this at the wedding location, the bride and groom had had enough. So we found ways to “sneak” off at the reception to allow the bride and groom some time alone, while capturing images the way they are meant to be captured.

Likewise we have worked with many great vendors that we would gladly work with again and again. We referred each other because we knew what to expect from each other. The quality was always top notch. The service was always extraordinary. And we knew the bride and groom would be happy from beginning to end. They have been friends for many years and remain friends to this day.

If you are new to the wedding industry, building a relationship with your client may seem like the most important thing to do. And it is. Yet the relationships you build with vendors is what will build your business over time. You will only see a bride and groom once – at their wedding. Okay, maybe several times if you do other family members and friends. But if you become friends with other wedding vendors, you may work with each other a dozen times or more each year.

How do you build those relationships?

1. Start with your clients

What vendors will your current clients be using at their upcoming events? This is a great starting point for building relationships. A month or so before a client’s wedding, ask them for their list of top vendors: coordinators, videographers, caterers, florists, musicians, etc. Get points of contacts, and find out who you will be working with at the event itself. For instance, you may be working with a DJ service who employees 6 different DJs. Its great to know the owner of the company, just as its equally important to know who the DJ will be at your event. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wedding Photography Tagged With: , , ,

Considering a Photography Job in the Cruise Ship Industry

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Are you tired of the same old grind day in and day out? Ever have an urge to travel the world and see something new? Do you have a good work ethic and wouldn’t mind going completely out of your comfort zone?

If you’ve answered yes to these questions, then you should definitely consider working on a cruise ship as a photographer. Let me tell you right off the bat, it’s not easy work and working on a cruise ship doesn’t mean you’re on vacation. You do however get many huge benefits.

The Cost of being a Cruise Ship Photographer

Let’s start off with what might be perceived as the negatives. These aren’t necessarily all negative aspects of the job, but they are things that you will definitely need to think about before you make a commitment to this life style.

You must be willing to be gone from your home for 8 months at a time. During this time you will be traveling to many different parts of the world without the opportunity to see friends and family. You will need to be comfortable with this or it’s going to be a very difficult job. At the end of your 8-month contracts you will have the opportunity to take about 2 months off for vacation.

Expect 8-hour workdays 7 days a week for the entire 8 months without a day off, ever. Not only will you be gone for 8 months, but you’re also going to work extremely hard every day of those 8 months. When I say you’ll never get a day off, I mean it. Not even one.

Strict rules while onboard. This may not be much different from what you currently experience if you work for a large company, but it might also be completely different from what you’re used to if you work for yourself. On the ship there are a lot of rules and regulations that you’ll have to live by. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Travel Photography Tagged With: , ,

Can You Still Use Etsy For Making Money With Your Photography?

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If you’ve been online for any length of time, you know sites come and go. What people were using even just a few short months ago to market their businesses may not work any more.

Many months ago I started looking at Etsy as a way to build up your brand as a fine art photographer.

Dig Deeper: How Photographers Use Etsy

Dig Deeper: 10 Places To Turn Your Photography Into Sales

Is Etsy still relevant today? As it turns out, the answer is yes.

Etsy is the king of the marketplace when it comes to selling handcrafted goods. You can sell your art without having to know how to build a website or start up an online store. Etsy does it all for you. You list it for free and pay a low commission on anything that sells. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fine Art Photography Tagged With: , , ,

Market Your Photography Business So You Can Travel and Live Anywhere

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Many people dream of the day they can quit their jobs, throw a camera in a bag and travel the world. We love to travel and experience new things. Taking pictures is a way to remember each step of the way. And if you can get paid for doing it as well, why not start today.

If traveling the world with a camera in hand has always been on your bucket list, the only way to make your dreams come true is to do it.

Self Promotion

With many career paths, they can be time consuming and expensive. If you open up a retail store, you are pretty well locking yourself into a location.

But if you want to be a travel photographer, the only investment is camera equipment, a computer, and a website. Then you can create your images and load them up to your site for any type of promotion you choose.

Need some inspiration? Check out Stuck In Customs, one of the best travel photography sites online.

Build Your Portfolio

With WordPress, you can build a sophisticated web presence in no time. You can add to it anywhere in the world you have Internet access. And you can connect it up with many different sites to give you even more exposure – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, YouTube and SmugMug.

In years past, you had to connect with people on a personal or one to one level. Now everything can be done via online. If you are connected to editors through Twitter, you can communicate on your time. If they run across your Pinterest boards, they can evaluate you on their time. If you build a SmugMug portfolio and gain an incredible following, you’ll have more traffic than you can handle. And it will all be something you can build when you have the time – leaving you free to shoot on your time.

Dig Deeper: The 10 Advantages Of WordPress For Designing Your Photography Site [Read more...]

Filed Under: Travel Photography Tagged With: , , ,

10 Things You May Not Have Know About Copyrights

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10. In most cases, a registered copyright will last your life plus 70 years. There are however exceptions to the rule. Cornell has a great resource page showing the common and special situations.

9. If you’ve asked for a copyright, you don’t need to renew it, as long as the work was created after January 1, 1978. Before this date renewal is optional but advised after 28 years.

8. Fair Use is a term commonly used when people use works in different ways. The Copyright office has created a doctrine of “fair use” by developing a substantial number of court decisions on the topic, using it to set precedence in current and future cases. The distinction between fair use and infringement is unclear and not easily defined. The most important thing to keep in mind is that most disagreements when it comes to fair use are settled in a court of law on a case by case basis. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commercial Photography Tagged With: , , , ,

What Makes A Wedding Photojournalist Different Than A Wedding Photographer?

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What is the difference between wedding photojournalism and wedding photography? As we learned early on in our career, it’s a blurred line.

For many photographers, photojournalism simply means capturing the event as it happens. They pose the formals, and along the way throw in a few candids for good measure. Then they use those candids to promote themselves as a “photojournalist”.

But is that really photojournalism?

Not by my definition. I like how the Wedding Photojournalist Association says it:

What sets our members apart in the industry is their candid, documentary approach – a distinctly artistic vision toward wedding photography.

We offer a new perspective on wedding photography – quietly capturing the real moments as they happen for the bride and groom. It is our goal to use photography to tell the story of your wedding day, not dictate it for you.

Its How You Approach It

A candid is simply a photograph taken without the subject’s knowledge. And while a great deal of wedding images can be classified as candids, a selection of candids doesn’t mean you are a photojournalist. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wedding Photography Tagged With: , , , ,

Wedding Photography 2012: Is A Photo Booth In Your Future?

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Add a photo booth to your 2012 weddings – go into detail about what they do, what the cost, how to promote etc

What do brides of 2012 want?

If you are targeting wedding clients, it’s the first place to start when deciding how to market your photography to newly engaged couples.

In too many cases photographers are creating packages that have been around for decades, offering services that are more than familiar, and not giving a newly engaged couple any more options than couples had 10, 20 or even 30 years ago.

And because more photographers are out there than ever, it’s a tough road to head down.

Head back in time 20 years and people were spending lavishly on weddings. But now that’s just not the case.

I found a great article that describes the new generation of wedding professionals in detail.

  • People are getting married later in life, and in many cases have a variety of commitments, such as houses and children, already in place.
  • The middle class is being eroded, meaning they don’t have the resources they once had. Borrowing against equity on a house or using credit cards is no longer the norm.
  • More players are in the industry thanks to the huge amounts of job losses over the past few years. They don’t have the experience or the investment that the pros do – but they do leave the consumer puzzled and uneducated about what high quality really means.

You simply can’t ignore what is happening in the industry. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wedding Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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